Image Credit: @SenBrentTaylor / X & canva
The Tennessee Conservative Staff –
State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis-District 31) is calling on Governor Bill Lee to help address the spiraling crime that plagues the Memphis area by hiring an outside consultant to find solutions.
In a recent letter to the governor, Taylor referred to Memphis as a “war zone”, noting that 25 people were killed in the city last month and overall crime in Shelby County increased by 6% last year.
He asked Lee to consider hiring consulting firm Teneo. The firm is run by William Bratton, the former NYPD Commissioner who served under former Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Bratton also previously led police departments in Los Angeles and Boston.
Taylor says the firm would “serve as eyes and ears to the governor” and would provide recommendations prior to the 2025 legislative session. He stated that they would work with city officials and law enforcement to look at current policies and help create new ones to get a handle on the crime.
“Look we’re never gonna completely eradicate crime, but we just have to get it down to a manageable level, and where we are is not a manageable level,” Taylor told ABC24.
State Senator London Lamar (D-Memphis-District 33) disagrees with Taylor’s suggestion, issuing a statement saying that the city instead needs to place its emphasis on getting to the “root causes of crime.” She argues that funds would be better spent on affordable housing, health care, mental health resources, better schools, and better job opportunities.
Lamar also highlighted the fact that many of Bratton’s public comments opposing the arming of teachers and criticizing lax gun regulations directly conflict with the views of much of the Tennessee Legislature.
Taylor also called out several organizations in the letter, groups that he says are “restorative justice schemers.”
“In my opinion, organizations such as Just City, Decarcerate Memphis, Vera Institute of Justice, and Justice Innovation Lab do not share our Tennessee values. These out-of-state funded groups support restorative justice schemes which serve to ignore crime victims, defund our police, and advocate for cashless bail making Tennesseans less safe,” stated Taylor.
Several of those groups issued statements saying that Taylor “misrepresents the work” and is attempting to “score political points.” The Vera Institute argued that “while police are an important part of keeping Memphis safe, they are not the only solution.”
Taylor is hoping Governor Lee will schedule a meeting with his as soon as possible to discuss his recommendation, noting that he was confident that the Governor would select an appropriate firm even if that company was not Teneo.
5 Responses
Join us for a great interview with Tennessee state senator Brent Taylor representing district 31 which covers Memphis Tennessee and outlying areas.
https://rumble.com/v493q4i-mill-creek-view-tennessee-podcast-ep174-senator-brent-taylor-interview-and-.html
Why do you need an outside consulting firm instead of hiring local people from an accurate cross-section of the Memphis populace who currently live the city’s crime problem? Why should the tax-payers have to pay for an expensive fancy out-of-state consulting firm to solve a problem that locals are better equipped to handle? To effectively fight crime, one has to know the neighborhoods they are dealing with. This is why we once required police to live in the “beat” they patrolled so they could better earn and keep the trust of the law-abiding residences whose help and expertise the police would absolutely need in combating crime by its roots.
A “consulting firm” is a waste of money unless the people in Memphis want to stop crime, and I’m not sure they do. Are they still soft on crime? State Senator London Lamar and people like her are the problem. She’s worried about teachers having guns? What a dope.
WARNING to all conservatives > Memphis is a truly dangerous place – I think it’s now the Murder Capitol of the U.S. Do NOT go there unless you must and if you go, take a gun and watch your back – the criminals drive around with guns looking for someone to rob. Example > In 2018 the President of the Memphis Chamber was shot in the back of the head – a random robbery. They killed him first and then robbed him.
Is Memphis still a Sanctuary City? The Center for Immigration Studies says Shelby County is a Sanctuary County because the Sheriff has said he won’t cooperate with ICE. If the Sheriff is still doing that, not a cent until that stops.
I’ve heard many stories – friends driving through shoot outs, home invasions, murders that seemed to not have a motive. Workers can’t even go up a telephone pole without an armed guard on the ground because someone will stop, pull out a gun and say “Throw down your wallet”.
Need more weird examples? Have you ever heard of a “Memphis Door”? (It’s to stop home invasions). Can you guess why companies tell employees to close the blinds if they were working after dark? (Clue – think “snipers”).
What is needed are a new district attorney and police chief who will concentrate on the recidivists who commit a significant majority of the crime
Three felony strikes and your out; 20 years
What about a new DA and politicians who believe in Law and order with jail time. This is a No Brainer, Send me the Consulting fee.